Ceremonies mark opening of Musial Bridge

Published
12:00 am CST, Saturday, February 8, 2014

ST LOUIS — The newest bridge spanning the Mississippi River is named after Stan Musial. You might have heard of him.

Musial was a Hall-of-Fame first baseman for the St Louis Cardinals and a beloved figure in the St. Louis area. The bridge sharing his namesake is the third longest cable-stayed bridge in the country. The bridge is 1,500 feet across and 60 feet above the surface of the river.

Part of the $700 million New Mississippi River Bridge Project, the bridge, which itself has a price tag of $229.5 million, spans from St. Clair County into just north of Downtown St. Louis through I-70. This is predicted to ease traffic on the Poplar Street Bridge as well as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridge. The Musial has four lanes with room to add an extra lane on either side.

The opening of the bridge commenced with a ceremonial lighting on Friday night. That event featured speeches from local politicians including former area congressman Jerry Costello.

Saturday morning allowed public admittance to the bridge. The morning included a cycling event at 10 and a 6K run at 8 a.m. At noon, the bridge was open to the public to walk or ride bicycles across it.

A ceremonial ribbon cutting happened took place at 2 p.m. After that, a cruise of special cars were invited to do a “first crossing” event. Events Saturday concluded at 4 p.m. The bridge was then closed to the public at that point as well. The bridge opens to the public for crossing at noon Sunday.